Hogwarts, a History
by Gracie West
Summary: Simply sewing together the Marauders' history with the pieces we've been given, so of course it's J/L... R/R for more chapters... written prior to Book 5 release...
1. And so it starts

*****SERIES DISCLAIMER: Nothing's mine but the words, kiddies, and even those aren't that great.  Enjoy.**

        "Today we start studies on non-human shape-shifting.  We will begin with a creature with the ability to change itself into the worst possible thing.  Has anyone any idea of this creature or what it becomes?"  The middle-aged witch blinked quietly, leaving the question to saturate the air within the classroom.  A slender hand raised in the back of the room, and the witch smiled lightly, "Why, yes, Remus?"

        He sat up a bit, not quite so slouched as he had been, and cleared his throat, "A boggart, Professor; they become the very thing one fears most."  The grin reached the professor's eyes, and her light wavy hair bounced as she nodded.  Remus shifted nervously in his seat, "Professor, I was wondering…?"  He looked up, hazel-gray eyes uncertain in their emotion.  "Is there any way I can sit out this lesson?  I know the charm to pacify boggarts, and I would really much rather avoid them if at all possible."

        The professor frowned and morosely shook her head, "I'm sorry, Remus, but Professor Dumbledore requires all third years to pass a practical lesson involving a boggart."  She looked past his distraught expression and replied, "If you would like to get it over with, you may demonstrate the charm first and get the drill over with."  At this, Remus sighed and reached for his wand, striding toward the front of the room.

        Opening a small chest, the professor released a large silvery sphere into the air, and Remus flinched.  Taking a deep breath as it neared him, the boy waved his wand and forced a stiff "Ridikulous".  The orb glittered gold, then ceased to glow, falling to the floor and shattering into sparkling dust.

        "Very good, Remus," the professor nodded approvingly.  "Thank you for giving us a fine example to work from."  Remus trudged back to his seat between a short, skinny black-haired boy and a broad-shouldered youth sucking on his quill, and he took the stool with a sigh.  "I really hate boggarts."  He shivered and slumped his face into his elbow; the boys flanking him exchanged worried glances.

        "Hey," the short boy mumbled from the corner of his mouth, his eyes still on the professor.  "What's up?"  Remus growled and settled deeper into his elbow, ignoring his friend.  The short boy mentally entrenched himself, determined to gain a response.  "C'mon, Lupin, tell us what's wrong."

        **_Remus Lupin_ finally conceded, muttering darkly into the table.  "I just don't like working boggarts in front of people; you're hatching your greatest insecurity and cringing before it while everyone stands by to watch."  The short boy raised a pair of impressed eyebrows to the boy on the other side of the cynic.**

        "Well, Remus always was the eloquent one, eh, Sirius?"  Sirius grinned at his black-haired counterpart's quip and nodded in his direction.  The boy patted Remus' shoulder and shook his head, "Remus, it's not a big deal; besides, it's over, and you've already gone."

        Finally Remus raised his head and turned a skeptical half-sneer on the short boy, "**_James Potter_, you mean to say you can't see why I despise boggarts so?"**

        James shook his head uncertainly, and Sirius stared at the slight, cinnamon-haired youth in sheer disbelief.  Remus had raised his eyebrows and uncovered a good-natured smirk, "I'm sorry I went off like that."

        "Well, Mr. Lupin, that's nice to hear; now if you'll please tell the class why boggarts are especially dangerous to Animagi?"

        Remus straightened as the professor needled him for talking during class, "Well, ma'am, many Animagi have a tendency…."  He prattled along for a short while, grinning superiorly the entire time.  When he finished, the boy leaned back and blinked.  The professor returned the lesson.

        "James," Remus mumbled, worriedly cracking his knuckles.  "Do you have any clue at all what you're doing?"

        The skinny black-haired boy didn't look up, intent on the flask bubbling in his hand.  His voice was hoarse when he replied, as though he hadn't really thought of speaking any time soon.  "I s'pose you want an honest answer."

        "Thinking of it now, I doubt I do."

        "Frankly, Remus, I'm very glad to hear that," the boy squinted at the curled-up dead spider lying upside on the wooden table.  "Bad news: I doubt this potion will help any."

        A frustrated sigh collectively escaped the group of four fifteen year-old boys.  The first to speak was the round boy, "But we've only got four days till the full moon."  Remus shuddered, and James sent a furious scowl at the now-embarrassed round boy, "Peter, we'll figure this out if it gets us expelled."

        "James Potter, aren't you one to talk?"  A voice came from behind the high-backed chair facing away from them, tinted with amusement.  "You'd get us all expelled with or without this new obsession of yours."  Sirius leaned back in the chair, holding himself up against gravity with a wave of his wand.  The grin on his lips paralleled that on James' face, and the pair looked like brothers.  "Of course, we'll be expelled by your ideas, but my plans won't help the case much."

        James stifled the grin, "Come off it, Sirius; this is serious."

        "So it is; he was just talking, wasn't he?" the thin boy sighed and slumped into a nearby chair, his chin in his hand.  He rubbed a tired eye and groaned, "Honestly we've worked so hard; if it hasn't come by now, it won't at all."  He frowned outwardly, but the other boys could see the tears welling in his eyes.

        "Well, Remus, it will come.  We can't give up now, we've come so far," Sirius hurriedly followed the pessimism with a hopeful outburst.  "We've only got to be logical, like McGonagall says.  That's the key to Transfiguration, eh?"  He blinked, a slow smile slipping over his face, and Remus forced a light smirk.  Hopping nimbly from the chair and leaving it on edge, Sirius took to his feet and heaved a deep sigh with wand in hand.  "We'll give it a whirl?  I think we'd better start back at the beginning."

        "It's past five-thirty," Peter whined, staring at the face of his watch.  He held it near his ear and shook, afraid it may have broken.  Hearing James clamber to stand next to his best friend, Peter forced a growl, knowing that Remus would soon follow the pair.

        Sure enough, he did, crossing wands with the other two already determined to make a thorough shot at the goal.  "Peter, you in?"  Grudgingly he stood and added his wand to the pile.  Sirius closed his eyes.  "Now remember what we'll be.

        "Zooaccurio animagi."  He peeked through his squint, then recomposed himself in a cinch.  Drawing his wand from the clump and holding it before his chest, he breathed aloud, "Proteum canus."

        James pulled his hand away as well and followed Sirius' lead, "Proteum cervus."

        "Pro-Proteum sciuridae," Peter stumbled as he finally realized the gravity of the situation.

        Minutes passed until they felt like hours.  Then slowly, one by one, the boys opened their eyes, Remus to a shocking menagerie.  He surveyed his friends, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.  "It—it worked."  He swallowed hard, unable to comprehend what stood before him.

        A relatively small stag stamped a hoof and shook his head, as if to free himself from the new weight of antlers.  The deer's ears flicked toward the creature beside him, and he looked at the animal.  Scratching a large paw placidly at the floor, sat a huge black dog.  The grim opened his mouth in something like a smile, then lifted his paw to stare the small scurrying thing beneath him.  With a loud squeal, the rat wrapped his tail around his body and twitched his nose.

        A bright smile from Remus signaled approval, and the zoo of a trio gave satisfied motions.  With a swoop of his wrist, Remus whispered, "Animagi nox proteum sapiens."  Within instants, the three animals had returned to human form, Peter from rat, James from deer, Sirius from grim.

        James shot a gaze around the room, steadying his nerves. "We've done it."  He smirked contentedly to himself, "We've truly done it, haven't we?"  With a conceited snicker, he nodded at the realization, "We're shape-shifters, Animagi."  He locked gazes with Remus, "Now you'll have company."


	2. Just one of the guys

*****DISCLAIMER:  Mine, all mine.  Except for the characters, plot, and all-around mood and sentiment.  So that means nothing's mine.  Oops.**

        "Day-after-tomorrow's the twenty-second, Remus; Moony due?"

        "Unfortunately, Sirius.  He hopes Mr. Padfoot will join him as usual?"  His sixteen year-old gray eyes looked tiredly hopeful, gratefully took in the nod from his dark brunette friend.

        "Along with Prongs and Wormtail guaranteed, Remus; don't look so worried!"  He playfully cuffed his doubtful friend's shoulder, then turned at the peal of girlish laughter.

        "Oh, come now, James!  I know it was you and Sirius.  Why would the spellbooks stick shut and shout for **_Severus Snape_ to recite the twelve uses of dragons' blood and declare an undying love for steak-and-kidney pie?"**

        "I'll never admit to anything, Miss **_Lily Evans_, because I've done nothing."**

        "Liar," she teased.

        "I know," James agreed.  A pair entered the common room arm in arm, and James laughed at the sight of Remus and Sirius.  Lily smiled, discreetly left for her dormitory after pecking James' cheek.  Sirius grinned roguishly, "I'll be your best man when you marry that girl."

        "I'm not marrying her!"  James shoved his best friend with a smirk and flopped casually into a chair by the fireplace.  Remus snickered, "Yet."

        Upon these words, James jumped up and stood on the chair, leveling his wand fiercely at Remus, "Watch it, Lupin!  Better take that one back!"  He struggled to mask a huge smile, but Remus matched him wand for wand, balancing on the back of the chair opposite his black-haired counterpart.  Sirius, not to be left out, clasped his hands under his chin, wailing in high falsetto, "Oh James!  Save me, James, my perfect and brave, da-dash—"

        'Dashing' never made to the list; both James' opposition and damsel-in-distress couldn't breathe through laughter.  James, however droll he found this, refused to discontinue his crusade.  Scrambling higher onto his chair's back, he raised his wand heroically, "I'll save you, Lily darling!  My love, sweet angel, my flower, my princess and lady, my—my…  Well, by Prongs, I've run out of them."  The bewildered expression left on his face forced another gale of laughter, this time engulfing James as well.

        "James dear, you forgot 'goddess'; you had better add it," the girl's green eyes flashed as bright as the fire crackling in the hearth.  She made rounds in her nightgown, hugged Remus and kissed his forehead, hugged Sirius and kissed his forehead.  Lily paused before moving on to James, "And Sirius, you know as well as I that James is **_far_ from perfect."  She smiled teasingly and turned to James, lingering in his arms before kissing his lips and murmuring a quiet 'goodnight' before skittering off to bed.**

        The slight boy slumped backward into his chair, eyes slightly glazed and lips slightly parted as he tried to smile.  Remus and Sirius glanced at one another.  By some unspoken signal, Sirius vigorously nodded and announced loudly, "Right, like he's _not gonna marry her."_

James only sighed obliviously, managed his pleased grin, and sank deeper into his chair.

"Miss Tierney?"

"I'd say phoenix over griffin."

"Very good, Jessalyn; griffin, while effective, are usually surpassed by phoenix feathers in potions of long duration."

Sirius sucked quietly on a Honeydukes sugar quill as know-it-all Jessalyn Tierney answered for the entire class.  He scowled at **_Severus Snape_** on the Slytherin side of the room; Snape was whispering to **_Lucius Malfoy_**, gesturing frantically toward Remus, James, and Peter Pettigrew, all sitting in the row in front of Sirius.  He glanced at Lily beside him, and a tiny smile spread over her lips as she picked up her wand.

She muttered something, and Severus' voice raised as though speaking into a microphone.

"—**_KNOW WHERE THEY GO EVERY MONTH_—!"  He clapped a hand over his mouth and immediately turned pink.  Lily slyly waved her wand under her desk as Professor Kettleburn frowned toward the Slytherins, "Mister Snape, if you plan to disrupt my entire class, I'd appreciate your absence."**

"Pro-Professor!" Snape sputtered loudly, shaking his head in disbelief.  "It's Potter!  Potter or Black or Lupin or Pettigrew—"

"Come off it, Severus!"  James stood up and glowered across the room, "A simple Amplification Charm!  Flitwick showed them to us last week; anyone could per—"

"That's enough, boys!  And Mr. Potter, I suggest you remember it is _Professor_ Flitwick."  The middle-aged wizard's eyes gleamed, daring them to speak again.  "Now Jessalyn…"

James stole a grin at Remus as the class settled back in, but the other boy only shook his head, denying credit.  James studied Peter a moment, then turned to Sirius with a ready smirk.  Sirius smiled but motioned toward Lily, who grinned innocently and blinked wide eyes.  He raised his eyebrows and smirked approvingly at her nerve.

"Potter, would you like to share with the rest of the class?"  Kettleburn narrowed his eyes in James' direction, but James smiled brightly in response as he turned around to face the teacher's glare.

"I was about to say Snape's prob'ly being tormented by some Slytherin.  I have nothing against him."

The professor rolled his eyes and continued the lecture, checking on James throughout the lesson.  Snape, in contrast, could have been guilty of murder in the first if looks could kill.

"Lily, I know it was you!"  The instant the group settled in for lunch, Remus pounced on his chance.  Sirius smirked, "Who knew Little Miss Future Headgirl had it in her?"

"I'll never admit to anything, boys, because I've done nothing."  Lily artlessly crossed her legs, a chiding frown on her lips.

"Liar."  James abruptly looked away, pretending to study the enchanted ceiling and feigning muteness.

"I know," her sunny smile shone through.  "Not bad, eh?"

"Not bad?"  Sirius laughed aloud, "Lily, he never saw it coming!  And I'll commend your choice of setting as well; Kettleburn lets everything slide.  James, you'd better watch this one."  His dark eyes gleamed mischievously as he thrust a finger in the girl's direction, "She's a keeper.  I say we adopt her."

"No!"

Four heads turned to study Peter Pettigrew after his outburst.  He glanced about quietly, "I mean, that's—that's—well, I think it's a bit dramatic for a simple charm.  Perhaps if she proves consistent."  No one else spoke; Sirius and James exchanged suspicious glances.  Peter bit his lip at the confused frown he was getting from Remus, "Maybe?  Well, I don't know, I could be wrong perhaps…?"  He looked away shiftily and slouched again.

Lily waved a graceful hand to regain attention, "Don't make a fuss over it.  I just thought you'd like to hear what he was saying."

"And you thought right; thanks, Lily."

Looking worried on a very rare occasion, James' usually chocolate-brown eyes looked licorice black as he surveyed his closest friends.  "You heard him.  No one tells him; it's too dangerous."  The boys nodded stoutly while James trained his gaze on Peter.  Lily furrowed her eyebrows in question, but she could see James was deliberately avoiding her.  Patient to the end, she decided not to press and spent the rest of lunch laughing at Remus' subtle jokes.


	3. A break from the monotony

*****DISCLAIMER:  La la la, with Rowling's characters!  La la la, and no one's mine!**

Transfiguration class breezed by, Professor McGonagall scolding Peter with every failed attempt at changing hairbrush to hedgehog.  Soon enough, evening and dinner were warmly welcomed.  Every mouth in the dining hall buzzed with offenses against Severus Snape and their top suspects.  General consensus blamed **_Sirius Black_**, but a fair percentage insisted Remus Lupin was finally fed up with Snape's constant meddling.

As news made its rounds, James snorted brightly.  "No one thinks it was me," he noted, beaming at Lily, staring cheerily at his best friends.

"Yet.  And James, you'll do something tomorrow with the old Potter signature, and they'll regret you were never blamed for this," Remus smiled approvingly on his friend.  James smiled at his plate, wishing he could will his heap of spinach right into Severus Snape's face.

The next day was Friday and a designated Hogsmeade weekend.  Being forbidden to leave grounds for setting loose a flock of Golden Snitch-like hummingbirds during the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw quidditch match, James and Sirius feigned disappointment.

Lily, Remus, and Peter bid their good-byes to the duo and boarded the train, expecting to meet the pair inside Honeydukes.  The plan was executed without a hitch, and the small troop migrated to the Three Broomsticks.  Turquoise high heels clicking, Madam Rosmerta grinned as she reached the table the had taken in the back, "Right, so that's four butterbeers for our gentlemen and a cuppa tea for the little lady, eh, love?"

"Yes'm," Remus answered, smiling contentedly.  Rosmerta winked at Lily, "Lucky girl with all these fine young men."  James puffed out his chest and pounded it with his fist in boyish bravado.  The landlady rolled her eyes fondly, "All except for that Potter."  She retreated for their drinks, and James blew a raspberry after her.

"I heard that, James Potter!" James blushed furiously pink as the woman's voice traveled back to their table.  Lily beamed at him and took his hand, interlaced their fingers.  Their eyes met, and he put his other arm around her waist.  The five occupants of the table released a simultaneous chorus of sighs as Madam Rosmerta returned with four tankards and a teacup.  She smirked at them, shaking her head as she surveyed them.

"Fixed your tea jus' 'ow you like, love: smells as strong as it tastes," Rosmerta winked at Lily.  "Know how you like the type tah wear 'is 'eart on 'is sleeve."  She fixed James with a look and flounced off toward the bar.

Peter had already managed to spill a large amount of butterbeer down the front of his robes and now desperately worked to dry it.  Suddenly Sirius snorted, "Remus, I want to ask you something."

"Right, and what's that?"  The other boy replied, licking his lips clean of butterbeer residue with a warm smile.

"Say I'd a girl, beautiful girl."  He stared meaningfully at Lily, but she obliviously gazed at James.  "Very smart and funny and devoted and not afraid to get in trouble when needed."  Still no response from the pair.  Sirius raised his voice a bit and pressed harder; Peter turned to watch James, wondering how long this would go.

"Let's say this girl—we'll call her 'Rose'—let's say Rose was very like me in a hundred ways that set us off perfectly.  And Rose's a devoted thing, always staring at me so absently with those green eyes, or holding my hand, or something equally nauseating."  Nothing.  Thus encouraged, Sirius forgot his inhibitions and decided to go for broke, "Still you know I tend to get nervous around people of the female persuasion."  At this, Remus glanced at James, afraid this was too obvious.  James, however, didn't even blink toward them, eyes studying Lily's hand in his while a grin played on his lips.

Sirius boldly went on, raising his voice even more, "But I always play the bad guy and find some excuse to avoid her.  And still, when she's gone, wouldn't you know—I'm head over heels just thinking of the girl."

"Sirius," Remus smothered a grin as he raised his own tone, "I'd think you were a complete fool and lucky I'm your friend."

"And why's that?"

"If I weren't, I'd sweep your Rosie off her feet myself!"  Remus snapped aggressively.  His expression invited argument, a sharp contrast to the usual passive shade of a smile.  Still Sirius shared Remus' animation, having heard what he wanted.  Peter, in spite of the well-meaning, groaned as he realized the aim, "Not another one of these…."

Sirius barely frowned, then put on a game face, prepared for a row.  Taking a precarious chance, he invited a legendary temper, "And you, James, what would you do in my shoes?"

Remus shook his head with a grim countenance.  "We're not supposed to interrupt, Sirius," he gestured casually at the pair beside him.  "I mean, we made our point, but James works up his nerve in public?  We should let this one go."  

Two pairs of eyes traded knowing smirks.  Sirius clucked his tongue and turned to the rather involved pair across from him, "Oh Remus, I always rooted for those kids."  He gave a fake sniff and clapped a melodramatic hand on his friend's forearm.  Remus shook his head and patted Sirius' hand, stealing a glance at Lily holding James' face in her hands, her lips pressed against his.

"Oh, I know, Sirius, me too."  He bit his lip and closed his eyes.  "I'm sorry," he swiped away an imaginary tear and looked away, "I just never thought it would be so beautiful."  Cynical in the company of such optimism, Peter wasn't quite so amused, darkly muttering words like 'nauseating' and 'poor taste'.

A long moment, and Lily suddenly pulled her mouth from his, clearing her throat, and swiped at a stray piece of hair.  She licked her lips and glanced at James' hands around one of hers, addressing her now-snickering friends, "I think you underestimate Sirius' Rose."  Nothing could mask the sheer shock on Remus and Sirius' faces, and Lily continued superiorly, "She'd know exactly what she had on her hands and how to get her reaction."  She smiled earnestly now, "And I would bet James' new broom—"

"Hey!"

"—There would be some reactions from the times he didn't avoid her interludes that dear Sirius wouldn't be sharing with us."  Her eyes landed on James, and he looked away in embarrassment.  A tight-lipped grin etched itself over her lips before she spoke again, "And do remember, Remus—'devoted' she'll stay."  Her point driven home, Lily took a sip of tea.  James shook his head, and Remus and Sirius blinked vacantly.

"I do hate to break this up, but we really better get going," Peter tapped his watch and shrugged regretfully.  Immediately Lily glanced at James, and the three boys began to gather up their cloaks.

"Be careful," Lily reminded needlessly, "and don't dare get caught."  She bit her lip as she fastened James' cloak about his shoulders, "Watch out for Snape, of course, and hurry up to the common room."  James leveled his eyes at her height, and he grinned while she fixed him with a protective glare.

"Of course, Mum."  James smirked, and Lily wagged a finger in his face.  He watched a moment, humoring her, then swept her into his arms and kissed her forehead.  "You wait for me in that common room, and I swear I'll hurry up."  She suddenly turned as Remus grabbed her arm.

"I will!  I'll see you soon," and she was gone, swept into the street and warm spring wind by one of his best friends.

James let the grin saturating his mind reach his face as Sirius laughed aloud.  The boy turned the smirk on his friend and nodded in concession, "Just like you said, Sirius.  Head over heels just thinking about the girl."  He raised his eyebrows playfully and laughed, "But let's get outta here; I've got a common room to get to."


	4. The truth: a very dangerous thing

*****DISCLAIMER:  What, you think any of this is mine?  Ha, sorry to disappoint…?**

Dinner never seemed so short after Sirius and James were found in spots at the house table.  Remus took his usual chair, fidgeting nervously.  His eyes darted over all the food in sight, but he ate nothing.  Finally, when Lily became nervous enough to leave herself, Remus nudged Sirius, "I'm going; I'll see you in an hour."  Sirius nodded without turning to him, and James matched Sirius' stare with all its weight.  Peter seemed to slump unusually deep into his seat as he noted Remus' announcement.

The mood fell rapidly after Remus left.  James pleaded a meeting with his quidditch team and Peter a last minute trip to the library, so Sirius was headed for the tower with Lily.  He smiled and offered his arm with an elaborate bow, "Ah, Mistress Potter, I suppose we're off?"

"Shh!"  She missed the taunt, clapped a hand over his mouth, and mouthed, "Listen!"

From farther down the corridor came an unwelcome familiar voice, "I actually saw him this time, Lucius."  Sirius' expression darkened at the voice, and Lily could feel his lips make out 'Severus Snape' under her fingers.  Snape continued with a sinister laugh, "Out by that homicidal willow with the nurse Pomfrey."

Sirius, it seemed, had heard enough; he grabbed Lily's arm and stomped through the hallways to the common room.  "Wait here," he demanded upon entrance, dropping her off in a convenient chair.  Giving the empty room a quick survey, he gave her a nod and dashed back into the hall.

Thoroughly confused, Lily tried to regain composure and picked up her Potions book only to drop it as Sirius re-entered in an angry whirl of robes.  "Severus Snape has put his hands in the wrong wizard's business now.  He'll wish he never went after Remus Lupin's story," his malicious smirk was enough to make Lily flinch as he glanced at his watch.  He shook his head as if to chide himself, "I'm running late.  Tell James we're not going far tonight.  He'll find us."  His face softened as he waved good-bye to the girl and disappeared through the painting.  Lily stared after him, worry creasing her forehead, and didn't move for fear of the thoughts she could have.

Quite some time later, the portrait swung open to admit a broom-toting quidditch team, James tiredly bringing up the rear.  He slumped into Lily's chair beside her, leaned into her shoulder as she slid her legs over his lap and pushed herself against him, "It's been a very long night."  She pushed his bangs from his face, smiled as he took her hand and kissed its heel.  Then she frowned, remembering Sirius' words, and leaned her forehead against his with a sigh.

"Sirius says they're not going far; you'll be able to find them."

"Oh!"  James grimaced, recalling his prior plans and groaned.  She grinned at him and pulled his head to her shoulder, holding him close.  "You know, you really don't have to go if you really don't want to."  Combing his unruly hair with her fingers, Lily touched her lips to the spot just behind the bottom of his ear and pushed a hand down his chest.  James gave a quiet sigh as her lips moved down his jaw and the hand down his stomach, finally finding his mouth and the button on his jeans.  He ran a hand up her thigh to her hip, his other hand behind her neck, and kissed her.  Pulling away for an instant, Lily lightly brushed her lips over his bottom lip, "He mentioned something about Snape though."  She moved her focus just above his eyebrow for hardly an instant.

"What about Snape?"  James dropped the Romeo facade, eyes  bright and alert; Lily gasped and pulled away at his sudden jump.  She scowled crossly at him but replied, "Something about him wishing he never went after Remus, put his hands in the wrong business."  James looked away into the fire, the orange light glinting spiritedly in his eyes, and swore.  Hearing this, Lily did the same.

"I have to go, Lily."  She glanced at her hands in his lap, not feeling the submissive she looked at all.  James sighed and raised her face to look at him, "Oh Lily, I've **_got_ to; a life may depend on it."  She pleaded wordlessly, searched his face for some hint of the story, but he refused any revelation.  "Good night, angel."  He leaned forward and kissed her lips, ran up the spiral staircase to the boys' dormitories.  Scrambling down the steps with wand in hand, he paused long enough to throw an apologetic kiss before racing out of the room.**

He didn't need to glance up to know the moon was full; why else would he be here?  James shook his head under the Invisibility cloak and picked up his pace, the Whomping Willow in his view.  As he neared it at a run, he could make out two figures, the two boys he was trailing this clear fall night.  "Sirius, no!"  But one had already poked at a knot in the vicious tree with a long branch and was following the other toward its trunk.  "Sirius!"

Sirius turned around, saw James throw off the cloak, but he pushed Severus through the gap in the roots to the passageway.  James tore after them, dreading the tree's branches.  And sure enough, they came.  The Willow swung its boughs violently, narrowly missing James as he dove for the opening, tumbling down into a tunnel.  Raising his wand, he spoke louder than he'd intended, "Lumos."

The light spilled through the darkness and revealed Sirius and Snape.  James' jaw dropped, and his voice rose to a furious roar, "By Padfoot and Prongs, Sirius Black!  How could you think of this!"  Seething, he rounded on Snape, "Severus, you've got to leave!  C'mon, please!"  Shaking his head in the frenzy of the moment, James moaned a berating at his best friend, "Sirius, you know how Remus is!  Transform and go after him!"  Snape had frozen in place, immobile due to some unreadable emotion.  James refused to waste any more time, barking, "Snape, come with me!  Sirius, after Remus!  Now!"

A low growl echoed from behind Sirius and Snape in the dim burrow, and all three whirled to greet a strange creature shifting shape before their very eyes.  "Snape!"  The boy didn't need to be told again, scrambling up the broad slope with James on his heels.  The smaller boy turned around long enough to shout, "Sirius, transform!  Now!"  And within seconds, he was out, out of the tunnel, past the angry tree branches, panting on the cold emerald grass.  Severus stared at him, terror in his eyes, hair in his face, "Remus Lupin a werewolf?"


	5. The boy who lived

*****DISCLAIMER: Okay, okay, so it's a story.  But it's not my story; I'm just telling it.**

"I told you, didn't I?"  Sirius laughed and raised his glass ecstatically, "I remember when we were kids at Hogwarts, and I told you then!  We were fifth years, and I knew it!  And Remus!"  He threw his free hand out toward the man a few chairs down from him.  "Remus knew as well!  And Peter!"  Another wide arc of his arm, and champagne almost spilled all over James in his tuxedo.  "And no doubt old Dumbledore knew!"  Sirius laughed again, this time toward an older wizard beaming happily on the newlyweds, and set down his glass.  "And so I congratulate the pair I predicted at fifteen years old, the two best friends a man could asked for and the finest witch and wizard I've met!  James and Lily Potter!"  He winked at the pair, "James, I told you I'd be your best man when you married that girl."  Lily stood up and leaned across her new husband to kiss Sirius' cheek; the best man only blushed.

"You're kidding."

"No, dear."

"Lily angel, you're kidding?  But you've got to be kidding!"  
        "James darling, send the boys owls!  Our dearest friends—they ought to know!"

"Geez, by Prongs, you're not kidding!  And that means that we're—and I'm—you're!  Angel!"  He swept her into his arms and kissed her ecstatically, held her away from him to study her.  She smiled modestly and shook her head, "Owls?"

"Yes, owls…."  He looked around, perplexed, and Lily giggled, "Honestly, James."  She disappeared into the kitchen for an instant, returned with several envelopes in hand, and handed them to her husband.  He stared at them, each neatly addressed in clean violet ink and sealed in matching wax.

"Pettigrew, Mr. Remus, Sirius Black, Dumbledore…  Anyone missing, Lily?  We'll send formal announcements later."  James' hands shook as he spoke, and he managed to drop an envelope in his excitement.  Lily stooped to pick it up and studied it; "Mr. Peter Pettigrew…."  She shrugged and returned it to James' grasp, and he dashed into the garden the instant he gripped it.  Lily moved to the backdoor in time to see a gray-brown owl take off heading east and James jump like a child, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Go!  Fly, Odysseus!  And come home with some replies!"  He hurried to his wife's side, kissed her again, held her close, and simply breathed in her reddish hair.  She smiled and matter-of-factly quipped, "If it's a boy, his middle name will be James, after his father."

"Harry.  His name is **_Harry James Potter_**."  Lily kissed his tiny forehead again for the eighth time in two minutes, then looked radiantly at the small crowd gathered around her.  Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black stood around her hospital bed, James in a chair on her other side.  She laughed aloud for no apparent reason, kissed him again, and kissed James.

Remus stared at the chocolate cigar in his fingers, smiled at James' idea of a joke.  He knelt at Lily's bedside, watching the new baby intently, shaking his head.  "I still think his name should have been Remus," he grinned.

"Or Sirius!"

The shortest man shuffled his feet nervously, "Can you imagine a 'Peter Potter'?"  He chuckled bashfully as even the baby giggled.

"James, I don't know if I like him walking as much as he does," Lily warily followed her one-year-old through the house as he toddled about in search of trouble.  James laughed at the sight, "I can't wait till we can teach him to ride a broom!"

"James!  He'll hurt himself enough walking!"

"Lily, no boy of mine will grow up without learning to play quidditch!  He'll love his first broomstick; it'll be dearer to his little heart than his first animal!"  He reached for his son, and little Harry made a mad rush for his father.  James held him close and offered him a cookie, which the little boy immediately pushed away.  James smirked, "Picky like his mum."

"James!"

"Here, Harry; try this," he handed his son a piece of chocolate and smiled almost as brightly as the child when Harry shoved it into his mouth joyfully.  "There, Lily, there he's like his dad!  He takes to Chocolate Frogs!"  Lily shook her head and took the baby from her husband's arms.

"Enough of your Chocolate Frogs, James; it's time for bed, Harry angel!"  The man leaned in to kiss his son's thin black hair and then kissed his wife's forehead.  She smiled and hummed to Harry as she danced to his room across the hall from theirs.  She laid him down in his crib and tapped his little nose lightly, "Good night, Harry dear."  She assumed a deep, would-be solemn voice and murmured, "Good night, sweet prince, and may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."  She whispered a sweet "Good night" before turning to leave.

Then suddenly the windows shook in their frames with a deep, resonant rumble.  Lily stood bolt upright, already frantic.  She heard heavy footsteps coming up the hardwood floors toward Harry's room, and she fixed herself aggressively ready to receive whatever came through the door.  James scrambled into the room, eyes alarmingly wide, his wand releasing orange sparks from the grip of his hand…

"Lily!"  He gripped her shoulders too tightly for comfort, and she winced.  "Lily, take Harry and go!  It's him!  Go!  Run!  I'll hold him off!"  He kissed her lips desperately and dashed from the room.

Lily froze for an instant, terrified at the scenario they'd dreaded for so long come true.  Her senses returned abruptly; hurriedly she gathered Harry and a few blankets into a wicker basket.  She jumped as she heard the front door tear off its hinges and fly against the wall behind it.  She hurried across the hall to duck out of the back door in her and James' room, realized in sheer horror that the door was locked.  Frenzied shouts and cries carried from the living room and threw her concentration, her fingers fumbling numbly at the two simple locks on the door.  She froze:

"Forget it!  You'll never have the—"

"Oh, Potter, if only you knew!"

She heard James groan loudly in pain and only then realized hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

Then the world seemed to stop.  She heard the low rumble travel down the hall, could perceive the bright green light glowing toward her—she had to save Harry—

And then the one thing that terrified her more than anything—he stood before her in all his terrible glory, and her heart skipped more than a single beat.  Silence swallowed her voice, and then from a space inside that she had never known, a force exerted itself, came loud and desperate.

"Not Harry, not Harry!  Please, not Harry—Please, I'll do anything!"  She pushed the basket away and got to her feet, back to the wall and pleading as desperately as she dared.

His high cruel voice echoed through the small room, menacing and far worse than she had ever imagined, "Stand aside—stand aside, you silly girl!  Now!"

"Not Harry, please, no!  Take me—kill me instead!"  She dropped to her knees, not able to shift her eyes from his evil gaze.  "Not Harry—please!  Have mercy!  Have mercy!"

Twin curses and flashes of agonizingly bright green erupted from the dark figure, Lily's screams echoing into the night, and the voice laughed, high and shrill in the darkness of the house lying in ruins.  And as suddenly as he had come, as though he could dredge no more vile power from within himself, the Dark Lord Voldemort was gone.

And the orphaned baby boy lay crying in the night, a strange shape cut deeply in his tiny forehead.


	6. convicted

*****DISCLAIMER:  (Sniff), this is so sad... I'm glad it's not my story, or characters, or plot, or anything!**

"Oh, by Padfoot and Prongs…."

Peter.

Sirius Black, sitting astride his motorcycle, pulled to a halt in midair.  He gulped and looked frantically about, terrified at what this meant.

"Voldemort…."

He swallowed hard, his throat tightening and his eyes beginning to sting.  His voice wouldn't come; he had to force himself to mutter the words he dreaded but knew held true: "I did this."  He circled and sickened at what he saw from the different angle: "James!"  He sped to the ground, hopped off before coming to full stop, and rushed to his best friend's side.  James lay slumped against a wall, as though so terribly exhausted he hadn't reached his bed before he fell asleep.  No mark of any violence.  Sirius coughed, felt his stomach turn, resisted the urge to run from this place and never return.  Squatting in front of the dead man, he reached for James' wand arm, clasped his two hands around James' still-warm one.  He bowed his head and squeezed his eyes closed, praying this was all some horrid nightmare.  "I'm sorry."  He reached for James and embraced him, moaned in distress.  Slowly Sirius had to instruct his shocked body to stand, and he glanced around gingerly.  He murmured again, "I'm sorry," and picked his way through the debris down the corridor.  He turned a corner into the couple's bedroom and emitted a strangled cry from some primitive region of his throat.

"Lily."

He bit his lip as he went to her side and picked up her wrist; he knew he wouldn't find a pulse.  He stood up again, just looked at her; prostrate as though she'd merely fainted on the hard wooden floor.  He knelt down and kissed her forehead, "Forgive me, Lily; I loved you two like family."  He reached for a blanket lying nearby and covered her chest and shoulders with it.  He stared, taking in nothing but the contrast of her bright orangish hair against the darkness of the room; only stared hopelessly at the pastel blues and greens in the baby quilt.  Then he jumped, stepped away with wary fear etched in his eyes.

"Harry."

He dashed across the hall.  Nothing dramatically unusual in here, the nursery looked sheltered from the hurricane that had swept through the rest of the house.  He sprinted to the crib.  Empty.  He scanned the room for any sign of the baby.  Nothing.  Pale and shaking, he crimped his lips and hurried out of the house to where he'd left his motorcycle, planted himself in the seat again, and rose into the night sky—then he noticed a familiar figure: "Hagrid!  **_Rubeus Hagrid_**!"

The huge man looked up sorrowfully and silently waved at Black.  Sirius landed again and gasped at the baby in Hagrid's arms.  "Harry!  He lived!"  Hagrid nodded, "Poor littl' thing."

Sirius shook his head, looked up at the man twice his height, and reached for the bundle in his arms, "Give Harry to me, Hagrid; I'm his godfather, I'll look after him."

Hagrid shook his head, "I've got orders from Dumbledore to take him to his aunt and uncle's."

Sirius shook his head again, "James doesn't have any brothers or sisters."  Hagrid nodded quietly, "But Lily did."

"What!"  Sirius balked and dropped his arms to his sides at this.  "Those horrid Muggle gits!  Harry Potter is going to live with them?  No child of James and Lily will ever see the insides of that house if I can help—"

"But ya' can't help, Sirius.  Dumbledore's orders."

Sirius shook his head, more slowly now than before.  "Hagrid, you're a good man.  Do what you must."  He swallowed a sigh, swiped at one eye, "Take my motorbike; I won't need it anymore."  Looking down at the shaken man, the giant leaned down to let Sirius see the child before he left.  Sirius kissed the baby's forehead and took out his handkerchief to wipe Harry's face clean of the blood not yet dried.  He smiled as Harry yawned, oblivious to the dark forces at work around him, and whispered to him, "Your parents were the dearest friends I had.  As long as I'm alive, you'll never be alone."  He kissed him, smiled weakly at Hagrid, and walked away, his robes trailing behind him soaked in water leaking from the broken pipes of the house.

The street bustled busily, Muggles amiably chattering amongst themselves.  The tall man swallowed and looked around, certain that he'd run into the wizard he wanted.  He pushed a piece of dark hair back into place, then wiped at his eye casually, watching himself in a shop window.  It had been hardly a day since he'd discovered James and Lily dead in their home, and here he was in the middle of a Muggle street looking for a Dark wizard responsible for their deaths.  He shuddered but stood his ground in spite of himself.  If he came, Sirius Black would be ready for him….

A short young man hastened through the crowd, muttering to himself aloud and receiving confused glances from the other passer-by.  He bumped into Sirius, apologized thoughtlessly, and continued on his way.

"Peter."

The short man ran a hand through his thinning white-blond hair and spoke loudly from ten yards down the sidewalk, "Right then, that's Sirius Black!"  He turned around with a small smile but didn't move any closer to Sirius.

"Did you hear the news from Godric's Hollow?"  Sirius didn't advance toward him either and stared coldly at his friend.  Peter allowed the merest echo of a flinch to cross his face before painting his expression interested.  "Not yet, Sirius; Lily due for another one?  Little Harry—" 

"No, Peter.  Little Harry needn't worry about that.  Lily and James were killed last night."  Sirius studied the false shock on Peter's face and growled, "By a Dark wizard."  He gave a vicious scoff and added smugly, "Now who do you think it was?"

Terror stared back at him from Peter Pettigrew's beady eyes.  The old nervousness of his past returned as Peter shook his head in horror and began to back away, his voice wavering hysterically with every shouted word.  "Sirius Black!  What are you saying?  Are you admitting to the murders of your best friends!"

Sirius' eyes flashed furiously, "Pettigrew, I don't need—"

"Lily and James, Sirius!"  Terrified tears ran down his pallid cheeks as he wildly waved his arms in the air.  He shook a frantic finger toward Sirius, "How could you?"  He pulled a penknife from within his cloak and ran it along the inside of his hand with a wince and moan of pain.  Blood rolled down his wrist and forearm, and Black hesitated at the space for the missing digit in the middle of Pettigrew's hand.

Peter turned savage eyes on his fellow wizard, didn't heed the Muggles beginning to stare.  He deliberately reached behind his back, and Sirius plunged his hand into his robes in defense.  Peter Pettigrew shouted an unrecognizable word, and the street exploded before Sirius' eyes.

Every person within twenty feet of where Pettigrew had been standing no longer stood.  Black stood with his wand drawn, twelve Muggle casualties lying prostrate in the street before him.  Shrieks filled the air from people who had seen the incident.  He stared at the wreckage around him, noticed Pettigrew's finger on the ground.  He appeared to ponder his predicament for an instant, then—to the alarm of the Muggles still on the street—laughed.  His legs froze, but he doubled over with laughter in the crater-like remnant of the avenue, several corpses surrounding him.  Pettigrew's robes lay before him in a gore-stained heap, and the sheer sight of them seemed to force Black into more hysterical laughter.

Several men seemed to rush in from nowhere, wearing the characteristic pine-green-and-navy-trimmed robes of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad.  The number of the people, now milling about the scene of the crime, were moving to speak to the numerous Muggle witnesses, then waving wands across their faces with a mumbled Memory Charm.  Two or three of the larger men from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad approached Black, who now smothered his louder outbursts and only gave occasional chuckles and snickers.  He watched with an absurd smile as one directed his wand toward Black and tightly bound his wrists.

"Sir, what is your name?"

"Black, Sirius Black," he grinned, "but I don't think I'm the man you want."

The wizard constable shook his head and spun a finger near the side of his head for his comrades.  One whistled a long, low note, but the other shook his head at Black.

"We'll see, Mr. Black.  Tell the dementors at Azkaban."


End file.
